Check this out from the lads over at Catalan Elite Football: www.facebook.com/catalanelitefootball (Facebook Link)
A variation on a 4 vs 2 possession exercise for under 8's. 1 server/link player in a server zone encourages intelligent movement and positional sense from 3 attacking players in a passing zone vs 2 defenders. An exercise full of coaching points, decision making and discovery learning. Really top drawer stuff for coaches to take idea's from and adapt to their own.

Canadian Sport for Life has broken up long-term athletic development into seven stages based upon the newest science, research, and on-the-ground experience in athletics, coaching, and education. Their methodology demonstrates that by introducing and training the correct skills at the right times of development, both kids and adults will become more active, stay active, and perform better than those who do not follow such a program. The seven stages are:
1. Active Start (ages 0-6)
2. FUNdamentals (girls 6-8, boys 6-9)
3. Learn to Train (girls 8-11, boys 9-12)
4. Train to Train (girls 11-15, boys 12-16)
5. Train to Compete (girls 15-21, boys 16-23)
6. Train to Win (girls 18+, boys 19+)
7. Active for Life (any age)
The first three stages are designed to teach children physical literacy. These stages teach movement and sport fundamentals before children reach puberty so that they have the basic skills needed to remain active for life. They also provide a foundation for elite-level competition at the older ages if that is the path the child chooses.
Stages 4-6 are for the elite training of athletes. They are for children who choose to focus on a specific sport or sports and are designed to maximize the physical, mental, and emotional development of each athlete. Stage 7 is focused on taking these properly developed athletes and making them lifelong participants in recreational and competitive sports, as well as promoting an active lifestyle.
Do you think this model works?